There are still a few Dungeness around. A boater yesterday caught six with three pots on a half-hour soak across the bay. The pier has had about two to six a day getting landed. The outer bay is a bit better in spots. The most consistent reports are from Ten Mile Beach where there are limits coming in from strings of pots soaking for a week or more. No surfperch or leopard shark reports. Abalone season is just over a month away, but some people can't wait. Fish and Game has busted Qiong Wang of San Francisco for taking abalone three time in 17 days. While out on bail he was arrested with 55 abalone. I'm not sure if this is a testament to Mr. Wang's persistence or his (seemingly justified) belief that he'll get away with it.

The Simple Way Of Fly Fishing That Is Tenkara

I've been reading quite a bit lately about an ultra simplistic style of fishing known as Tenkara, a traditional Japanese style of fishing which seems to be gaining a lot of followers in the western world.

To briefly outline the principles of Tenkara...it involves nothing more than an extremely light telescopic rod which extends between 11ft - 13ft6in in length (and closes down to 20") to which a long leader and tippet is added to the end (approximately the length of rod or longer). The fly or flies are then attached. No reel is used when fishing Tenkara.

    20" overall length when closed

            Traditional hand woven leader

The appealing aspect of Tenkara is that it requires a minimal amount of tackle which can be carried in a small pouch, together with a lightweight rod that will close down to 20" in overall length this offers the roving angler total freedom to wander unhindered.

If I'm honest I would have to admit that Tenkara's simple approach takes me back to a childhood time of fishing some local waters with a wooden stick, some line, a hook and a lump of bread trying to catch some of the resident fish.

I fancy that at some point in the future I will be trying out the Tenkara style of fishing, if so I'll be sure to let you know how I get on.

If you want to find out more then there is a wealth of information HERE


Tenkara Basics - Instructions and Lines from Tenkara USA on Vimeo.


Tenkara fly-fishing from Tenkara USA on Vimeo.

All photos and videos courtesy of TenkaraUSA



Two weeks ago I wrote here that lingcod would only need to be 22" long this year. While that may eventually be the case there is a delay in Fish and Game's ability to put the new regulations into effect. So, until further notice, last year's regulations apply. The lingcod have more time to trim down 2" off their lengths.

It has been pretty wet out here, so we haven't had too many people trying for crabs. Those that have tried had to fight the rain, wind, and strong currents, for not much success. This weekend looks like the weather should be better and the currents shouldn't be too bad in the mornings. The clamming and cockling have been pretty good. No reports of surfperch or leopard sharks.

Rising River Woes

Saturday was a lovely spring-like day with warm temperatures and most rivers running at good fishing levels...unfortunately for me this day was tied up doing other things leaving Sunday to 'wave the wand'.

The forecast wasn't looking good with widespread rain predicted for my destination in the Welsh Marches but we decided to give it a go.

To be fair the river looked ok when we arrived but the rain was falling hard and there was a lot of surface water lying on the roads and fields.

It was soon apparent that this was going to be a short fishing session and after a couple of fruitless hours we made the best of the riverside Inn to sample the local ales.

I am now starting to turn my thoughts towards the start of the trout season and long for those days when I can feel the heat from the sun on my back. This winters fishing has been a real struggle and even when the rivers have looked right the fish have been hard to catch.

The only living thing hooked!

The crabbing is the slowest it has been all season. In all fairness, it has been a really good season, so slow for this year is still not bad. It usually slows down for a few weeks this time of year, then a new surge of fresh crabs will come in. My guess is that we'll see those crabs before the end of the month. On another note, Fish and Game's preliminary Sacramento River salmon count numbers are 125,300 adult fall Chinook and 27,500 jacks. 2009 only had 39,500 adult Kings and we got to fish. The season decision process will begin on March 1st from 11:00 to 2:30 when Fish and Game will host the 2011 Salmon Information Meeting at the Sonoma County Water Agency Building at 404 Aviation Boulevard in Santa Rosa. Input from this meeting will help California representatives negotiate season alternatives at the PFMC meeting March 5-10 in Vancouver. It seems like having some pro-fishing voices there might be a good idea. The whole process will take two months.

Stripping Peacock Quills

My latest experimenting with my fly tying has involved stripping, bleach and rubber! You guessed it...I've been attempting some of the fantastic flies that I have seen on some of the forums which incorporate the use of a stripped peacock quill to create the effect of a segmented body.

The way in which you should take carry this out is really down to what you find best yourself. I have read many different processes that people undertake to strip the fluff from their quills and I would have to say that they all end up with similar results.

The following is my process based on my limited experience but its a way I find works well for me:

First important thing is to ensure that you select the 'right' type of feather, look for a large eye...you then need to look at the colour of the quills, this is best done by gently squeezing between thumb and forefinger whilst looking at the back (dull side) of the eye. You should see a nice lighter shade appear.

I then cut out enough quills to more than cover the amount of flies I intend to tie with them.

This next step is open to a bit of debate as to the best way to do it, the way I found works is to mix up a solution of 1/3rd household bleach to 2/3rds warm water then soak the quills for around 10 minutes of so. Some say that bleach weakens the quill but I have found no problems diluted to these proportions.

This will start to remove the fluff and you will see the water start to change colour as it gets to work on the quills. Most importantly I think the bleach in the solution alters the shade of the quills making them brighter which adds to the effect of the finished fly. The quills then need to be washed out thoroughly to remove all traces of the bleach solution.

Some tyers will be happy just to use a rubber to remove the fluff, others will just soak in water and there are others who use a different solution to remove the fluff...as I say its what you find suits you best.

I then finish off by gently rubbing an eraser along the length of the quill on both sides to remove the remainder of the fluff.

This leaves the quill looking bright and shiny and ready to be used.


The end result produces a body that looks pleasing to the eye and offers a realistic segmentation. (this fly is tied on a Tiemco 103BL #17)

Jesse Cassotta shows off a nice lingcod from last year. This year they won't have to be as nice to keep them, as the size limit is slated to drop from 24" to 22". Remember all those 23" lings you caught last year? This year those same fish will measure 21".

No catch update, but some salmon news. The Dept. of Fish and Game sent out a press release about salmon. "An Encouraging Salmon Forecast. The resurgence of the Sacramento River fall-run Chinook salmon is positive news for recreational and commercial salmon anglers. Initial hatchery and in-river counts confirm a substantial increase in the number of returning adult salmon in the fall and winter of 2010. Following two years of record low returns and closed salmon seasons, this was excellent news and provides for the potential for the reintroduction of recreational and commercial seasons. Adaptive planting strategies, regulation reviews and dedicated work by hatcheries to produce 20 million young salmon annually are keys to the DFG’s efforts to restore salmon populations. " There is also a report that the commercial crabbers are seeing lots of bait and krill out in the deep. Salmon season won't be decided until April, but things are looking better than they have in quite a while.

The dungeness crabbing has slowed a little more but hasn't given up. The crabs that are still coming in aren't all as pretty as the crabs from earlier in the season, but they still taste good. No further word on the surfperch, and the whale hasn't been seen in a couple of weeks and has probably left the bay.